A Hairsbreadth For Fate
by TapTapAlways
Summary: Qui Gon Jinn meets his death just after finding Anakin Skywalker. This leads to a disgruntled Obi-Wan having to raise what is soon a rebellious teenager, by himself. This leads to Anakin knowing Senater Palpatine, and we all know that leads to the dark side. But what if... Obi-Wan was on time, and Qui-Gon made it? With a bit of help, can Anakin bring balance to the force after all?
1. Prologue

_This story is inspired by Weird Al's "The Saga Begins", which I have been obsessing over lately. I'm so not sorry about this. Or about writing a story about it. There is a bank holiday tomorrow and it has now been assigned to_ writing _._

 _I do not claim to own "Star Wars". I am pretty sure Disney owns it by now, as they seem to have purchased everything else._

 _TapTap_

One moment. It was just a _moment_ , in the end, which decided it all. One single flick of a brown cloak made all the difference, for an entire _galaxy_ , changed millions and billions of lives. _Saved_ millions of lives: and set the dark course aside for an entire planet.

 _One moment_ changed that Qui-Gon Jinn was never locked in alone with Darth-Mal, and _one_ single flicker of Obi-Wan's lightsaber at the most important of times - having caught up with his master _quite_ in the nick of time - changed the way the story was to be told for everyone. One blocked stroke by a pupil who was about to become a master, and everything _shifted_.

Everything.

When they returned, Yoda could sense a slight lightening in the young boy Anakin's fear - clearly having gained some confidence from his actions in the war - and while the ultimate Jedi master still dug his heals in, he knew a force which could not be shifted when he saw such.

Ultimately, Yoda let Qui-Gon have his way and see the boy he had clearly adopted trained. Perhaps wisely, he did set one term: Qui-Gon was clearly the father Anakin had never had, and so he should not also be his master. This task, they left to a slightly concerned Obi-Wan, made Master by mere days. He did fine.

When Anakin was homesick, Qui-Gon was there to help, same as he had been on the ship, and when the manipulative senator Palpatine tried to approach the vulnerable boy, the Jedi master was firmly in the way. He had never liked the senator, sensing the lies hidden within, and guarded his adopted youngest from any whiff of his influence. Hence, Anakin did not properly meet him until he was almost a grown man. And he certainly never grew close to him.

When Anakin and Obi-Wan had their arguments, and they did, Qui-Gon led them to a compromise like the father of them both that he truly was, and by the time Anakin turned eleven, his master's former master got another Padawan of his own. The speculation, of course, being that Yoda felt that the older Jedi was too involved in the schooling of his old student's apprentice. In truth, Yoda just felt that the placement would be _best_.

This development granted Anakin not only a new father and a master (who was in many ways also a brother) but a mischievous older sister as well. Master Windu could often be heard questioning that Yoda must have been _mad_ , placing such a headstong girl under the tutelage of such a headstrong Jedi master, but perhaps that was why they suited one another so very well. And they did.

Having two pairs of master and student where there had before been only the one, they had more moments to breathe, and as a result, there was a time when Anakin, age fourteen, came back to his former home, only to find his mother flown. Tracking her down with the help of his sister and the two master Jedi, he found that she, too, had a new family and a new life. He didn't begrudge her a fresh start: he had gotten one, after all.

With this connection rekindled, when Shmi was kidnapped years later, the Jedi were the first Lars reached out to for help. Anakin was busy elsewhere and so did not recieve the message in time, as were the two masters, but Carriel went in her brother's place, naturally never requesting permission to do so.

As such, when a furious Anakin made his way after, finally hearing of his mother's predicament, he found Lars walking across his fields, working contently, and his mother safely back home since days. Carriel cheekily said "you're welcome" to her little brother, but she never knew what danger she might have saved him from. Perhaps Yoda sensed as much, because she was never ordered any punishment. No need to either, as with an earlier warning they got the message well ahead of events which required all of their attention.

Surrounded by a loving family, when Anakin fell for the queen Amidala, and she for him, there were many slow plans set into motion, seeking and hoping to help, and while their relationship was still kept a secret, it was not so from _everybody_.

And when, in the fullness of time, Anakin dreamt of her death, it was a vague fear, never kindled by senate Palpatine's evil. Having placed his trust in a better man, he confided in Qui-Gon instead about his fears, and the older Jedi convinced him that fear, while not necessarily a path to the dark side, really _did_ lead to anger and isolation. He persuaded him to talk about it, resulting in himself, Obi-Wan and Yoda all searching their senses of the future, none finding that any such darkness touched them.

Thus concluding - though he was criticised for jumping to conclusions by his master - that he was the cause of his expectant wife's still preventable death - and that the masters instead would be a guard against it - Anakin requested a task far from home and left for a time. He discussed it with his sister, who while finding him foolish supported him, and explained it also to his wife, who understood even though she didn't strictly like it. As Amidala's date of delivery drew closer, the three Jedi masters watched over her from not so far afar, hoping to ease whatever glimmer of darkness Anakin had sensed.

Carriel did not leave her sister-in-law's side, and thus saw her niece and nephew safely born into this world, their mother still with them. Anakin returned willingly, not to say eagerly, soon after.

And finally, when the Sith's attack on the Jedi academy came, Anakin Skywalker and Carriel Sheer were there _together_. When the masters arrived at the doorstep, everybody having rushed there as soon as the danger was sensed - the two apprentices being much closer to the threat than their masters - they found a battle still raging, and themselves still in _time_ to secure the _victory_.

As they reviewed the tapes of what had happened later, Anakin was praised for the level of power he held and his prowess in battle, but Yoda was seemingly more impressed by Carriel. It seemed that yes, indeed, Anakin Skywalker could bring balance to the force: but his adopted sister brought balance to _him_ , and not even the Jedi Council could possibly know just how much that had changed the course of events. Perhaps by much, but undoubtedly not as much as the survival of Qui-Gon had. Everything was different, because of one step Obi-Wan took differently - to what could have been.

 _Carriel Sheer is named in rememberance of_ _ **Carrie**_ _Fi_ _ **sher**_ _, who played_ _ **Le**_ _ia. This story, despite its length, is actually a prologue, hence the "story-told", kind of format._

 _TapTap_


	2. Babies

_I do not own Star Wars. I totally own Carriel though - she's mine! :D_

 _TapTap_

Carriel was, as ever, unmoved. Padme was glowing, sitting in her living room sofa with Leia cradled in her loving arms.

Yoda was observing baby Luke - safely held in his aunt's serene arms - while Qui-Gon looked over his pupil and daughter's shoulder with just as serene happiness on his bearded face.

Lastly, but certainly not least troubled, Anakin and Obi-wan seemed to be in competition for who could possibly fret the most. The rest of the Jedi assembled as well as the newfound mother took this fact calmly, too.

They did not know it as of yet (though frankly, most of them could _guess_ ) how this would become a bit of a theme when time passed.

As the twins grew, Yoda was there to _not_ help them get used to the sound of their native tongue, Obi-Wan was always slightly uneasy to be handed something so precious and so fragile as a baby, Qui-Gon was always delighted of the same and Anakin never stopped to worry about every little thing until Padme kissed his temple and asked him to relax. When she did, he would always smile slightly, and then he'd take a short break from worrying before going right back to doing it some more. Carriel, for one, always suspected he rather liked it. Qui-Gon eventually asked and got him to actually confirm as much.

As the twins slept at night like good babies and learnt to hold their own heads at age three months (Leia beat Luke to it with two days, surprisingly to their father's amusement) and eventually started to roll over when a nervous Obi-Wan was left alone with them for a mere moment. This did not seem to be a theme with Qui-Gon, who immediately took right to babies and never fretted one bit even when they inevitably threw up milk on him.

Master Windu, who always ended up being puked on every time he came to visit (but stubbornly continued to come, not wanting to be beat by Yoda) finally managed to come by without one of the babies sleeping as they grew older and more aware, and Carriel started to feel how heavy the babies were growing when patiently walking them around their mother's flat.

And all the while, as the babies were growing up peacefully through their first months in the world, their mother was happy and healthy and slowly resuming her duties, caring for her people as well as for her babies. And surrounded by a happy family, Anakin Skywalker could have never, ever guessed, who he might have been and what he might have been capable of doing (and not doing) in that moment, had something gone another way - all those long and _different_ years ago.


	3. Teething

_Here we go again: I do not own a thing..._

 _TapTap_

Yoda, at least, was calm. Padme, too, seemed while uncomfortable, like she had her feelings firmly under control. It was maybe, that she knew it was a faze they'd have to go through at some point, and she had been prepared to face it. Master Kenobi had long since fled, master Windu with him. Normally the image of male (and not green) serenity, Qui-Gon looked strained and pained as he walked the teething Leia around the room, soothingly rubbing her back.

Differently from her brother, who was screaming his head off rather, Leia merely whined a little in her "grandfather"'s protective arms. While Carriel merely stated that it was something all children went through, this fact didn't mean it got any easier. Anakin's aunt and uncle back home on Tatooine had told them all much the same in a hologram call, promising them it passed. It was very soothing information (and sympathy) to be fair, but it was still a strain on all of them.

Luke screamed, Leia screamed, and several adults around them in the end, too, wanted to scream with frustration. Strangely, it was Anakin who remained unshakably calm throughout the several months long ordeal, seemingly endlessly able to be patient with his screaming children while Padme started to resume her duties. Perhaps, his sister speculated privately, putting his worries to the test and facing something – an issue – head on, was actually easier for him than just battling a faceless, sent less, invisible sense of _threat_ like worries can be.

The couple was still a secret, of course, and no one knew who the former Queen Amidala's mysterious lover really was, but Anakin was not to be deterred by such a fact. If any Jedi noticed the young man missing, Yoda merely reported him gone on some task or other. He was with his family every day, but it remained known to only very few.

And then one day, six months after the twins were born, they were both done teething. There would soon be another storm eventually, of course, but this one was over for now.


	4. Danger

_I am not the owner of Star Wars: if I was the owner of Star Wars, I'd be too busy sunbathing on my yatch to write fanfiction... Actually, I'd totally be on said yatch, writing fanfiction just for the fun of it. But that is not the case. Enough with the rambling, I present: story! (Yay)_

 _TapTap_

It was not the first time the former Queen Amidala had been in danger thanks to her tireless efforts in the senate, and the older Jedi privately thought it wouldn't be the last, either. Much like the last time; her defence was debated, argued over for some time, and then a plan was selected. Precisely the plan Yoda had first suggested, predictably enough.

Once more, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker were selected for the task of guarding her. They did have the advantage of previous good work recommending them, after all. Granted, their last protection detail of the former Queen Amidala had also produced a few very interesting - to say the least - side results, but most Jedi didn't know about that, now did they?

Besides this, the last time Padme's life had been threatened, Qui-Gon Jinn had been sent on a tangent which might have got him taken captive or even cost him his life, had he been on his own. As it was, Carriel and him and proven a highly unpredictable force of nature together and had escaped unharmed. This time, he was on hand to help his former student. Naturally, Carriel Sheer joined them as well, as the annoying - but highly effective - big and little sister that she truly was.

Master Windu had just finished laying out the plan in Amidala's living room - the Jedi were to watch from there, sensing any danger which might befall the woman they guarded - when Anakin snapped. "That almost saw her killed last time," he argued angrily. His sister rolled her eyes at him. "Really, Ani," she shook her head. "I'll take the twins. I will stay with them and keep them safe. You and our masters will wait here. Good, solid, _official_ plan." She stared him down. "No one will know that you're not really out here, now _will_ they?"

"Quite," Qui-Gon agreed. "You stay with Padme, but if anybody should ask about it later, we all need to have master Windu's plan clear to us." "Clever, we must be, and vigilant," Yoda inserted peacefully from where he leaned onto his staff, "more than one enemy, you must face."

"Lies lead to the dark side, so beware," Carriel translated, unasked. Yoda looked up at her, smiling slightly in a way indicating he was really rather proud of her perceptiveness, as well as just who she was growing up to become. Qui-Gon's expression was not very different, the two Jedi also not-so-secretly enjoying the young woman's snarky insightfulness, but Obi-Wan looked slightly strained. His family was sometimes a bit too loose with the rules for his liking.

He told his former master as much when they sat together in the living room; Carriel having disappeared into the twins' room some time ago, and Padme just having retired to her own, Anakin with her as a silent shadow.

"I know you have always been a little more straight-laced than I am," Qui-Gon acknowledged, softly, meeting Obi-Wan's eyes steadily but with little challenge. "I know that you know, how I have always found it far more important to solve problems and stand by the course of _right_ , as is our task, than following rules laid down for guidance. It remains very important never to stray into evil, but life is generally not as tidy as rules tend to presume."

Seeing how the younger Jedi was on his way to interrupt, Qui-Gon held up a hand. "I know rules are there for a reason, but sometimes, we have to choose between a rule and what is right, never the less. What you should acknowledge - as _I_ do - is that it is _you_ , with your mind on the rules while ours are not; who keeps us on the right side of straying too far, while we make these calls. We are not disagreeing with you; you are merely _our anchor_." He smiled, noting how Obi-Wan pondered his words; heeding them. "Though my pardon, son; you are not _merely_ anything: you mean the world _,_ same as they do." They both knew who _they_ were, to the father of three (or even four, these days, counting Padme) in all ways that mattered.

Obi-Wan had never before seen it in that way; looked at their life in that light, and he _did_ relax, knowing now that his former master _did_ understand, and that his thoughts were indeed _heeded_. In the grand scheme of things, that was all he needed to know. So often, he had felt like his concerns were ignored, and all he had really needed to know was that they _mattered_ , when the older Jedi took a decision on how to move forward. Looking back, he thought that maybe, he could understand Qui-Gon's reasoning. He had never, after all, doubted his former master's _wisdom_.

* * *

"Anakin?" Padme sighed, looking up at her husband. She had been trying to seduce him - the opportunity to keep him an entire night with her under this convenient and easy a cover was irresistible - but while he was not trying to escape her by any means, he was paying her seduction very little attention.

They were lying together in her bed - it should be _theirs_ , but she couldn't rightly name it thus - Anakin resting flat on his back, not tense but not relaxed either, in that familiar attitude which likely meant he was focusing on the force. Listening, sensing, whatever you wanted to call it, but his mind was definitely not on her. Well, that was unfair. It _was_ , just not in the way she _wanted_ it to be.

"You're not very… into this, are you?" She sighed; it was not really a question. Now, finally, he looked at her, his gorgeous eyes - never losing their pull on her, even after all this time - full of apology. "I'm sorry - I swear it isn't you. I just can't… I need to focus, to see any danger coming, and I don't think I could stop thinking about it anyway, even if I tried…"

"I understand…" resigning herself to her fate, Padme curled up close, resting her head on Anakin's chest. He cradled her with an arm around her, pulling her close. She noted his laser sword just within reach on the edge of the bed: not that he'd be held back from his weapon by distance, should he need it. Nobody had told her, but she still knew; her husband was one of the most powerful Jedi they had, and she was certain nothing would pass him, even _if_ he was distracted. No, the greatest danger with seducing him would be getting caught by the two masters outside, if danger _did_ appear and they had to enter the room. Not that Anakin would forgive himself for his lack of discipline, even if no harm came to her, like it wouldn't.

Anyway, Anakin was the best pillow in the world, and she could be content just with hearing him breathe and listen to the slow, steady and strong beat of his heart, as she drifted off to sleep and he kept his watch in an admittedly very comfortable way.

It only took two nights before her enemy was vanquished: barely enough work for four Jedi, as it were.


	5. Senate

Naboo had tried to change its laws to keep their Queen Amidala. Now, when she was a woman grown, her people spoke up once again. It was brought up in the republic, eventually, how the planet wanted their native queen back on her throne.

Some were for, some against; maybe ironically mainly for the same reason: how admirably she'd acquitted herself in the Senate, how powerful a leader she was. Some didn't want her back to rule her people, being a formidable enemy to have. Some wanted her to go back, to have less of her formidable presence amongst them.

As ironically, the plans the different fractions came up with largely overlapped, though it was mostly - only _mostly_ \- by accident.

They tried to trip her up, turn her people against her or trap her into deals which would restrict her, but her people were too loyal, and she was too clever herself. It didn't help her enemies, either, that the Jedi order seemed firmly on her side.

Some pointed at her personal connections with their order, some assumed Yoda had his reasons, but mostly the reason was accepted; the Jedi order stood by truth and what was right, and Naboo had every right to choose to regain their regent in this way.

Not surprisingly, it was this connection which gave the opposition their idea. When everything else failed, they set their last term, and then accepted surrender: let her rule, then, but only, _only_ , if she marries a Jedi first. Of course, this was outrageous in many ways - especially given the Jedi ways and the very well-known fact that Amidala had a secret lover, who had fathered her twins some year or so ago.

There was no proof he was still with her, of course, the children being almost a year old and children taking almost another year to be born, but most assumed that he was. Let her pick between her people and her lover, they decided; that'll trip her up. Or if it doesn't, it'll disturb her enough to be less of a threat. If nothing else, it might shake her connection to the Jedi. They tried to cause conflict, that was all it was.

Just to be extra outrageous, they picked Anakin Skywalker, the powerful new apprentice, to point the finger towards; hoping to restrain him from his many missions and glory and power by entrapping him, too. No one was surprised that Yoda looked just as calm after the condition had been set, and yet, everyone still _was_.

It was not, in fact, Yoda who had been slowly manipulating an unexpecting senator into making this fitting choice, but Qui-Gon, with the slightly reluctant and very unexpected aid of master Windu, at a few steps in the process.

* * *

"This can not be made," Windu argued later, as they got together in private, the few who knew. Saying so, he was getting only an angry look from Qui-Gon, who considered the decision made already. "We need to discuss this. In council. Properly," Obi-Wan argued, while Yoda merely listened, eyes thoughtful, leaning on his cane. Finally, after Carriel had sworn some at Windu, he said, "Discuss it, we will. Plan, we must. Win, they cannot be allowed to."

"Would it be possible?" Padme, silent until now, asked the question looking at the floor, subdued. She _wanted_ it, that was clear to everybody, as did the pale Anakin holding onto her almost desperately. "It isn't _meant_ to be, but for the right alliance, exceptions have been forged before," Qui-Gon told them softly, his concern evident in every syllable. "It is…" Obi-Wan looked like he wanted to swear, same as his step-apprentice.

"Tactics, we must have. Turn this to our advantage we will, if clever we are," Yoda suddenly stated, tilting his head. Looking determined, Carriel raised her head, chin up, the image of defiance. But not against Yoda.

"What decisions?" Asked Anakin. "What will we tell the council?" Obi-Wan argued. "Exactly what decide we must," Yoda stated, making Windu groan. Standing next to him, slightly behind, Qui-Gon smiled.

In the end, Yoda decided - much to Carriel's amusement - to play on the fact that everybody always assumed that he knew everything. Speaking as if he knew everything there was to know about it - which was true, actually - he assured first the Jedi Council and then the Senate that he had found a suitable solution, and referred cryptically to a deal of some kind. In the end, he announced that Anakin and he had had a private conversation, and that the pupil had accepted his council. He promised their cooperation, and merely stated sagely that Anakin would be married to Queen Amidala once she'd retaken her throne.

A politician despite her beliefs, these days, Padme merely held her head high without reacting as he said so, and they all assumed, correctly, that she and Yoda had negotiated this between them.

Some called for more terms - Anakin permanently living with her, or them raising children of their own - but as it had not been set before, it couldn't now, either. They'd lost, and Queen Amidala and Yoda had come out the winners.

Perhaps it was for the best that the losers taking solace in the soon to be reinstated queen's supposed grief at being entrapped, couldn't see her that night in private with her friends and family, beaming while holding her lover's hand.

 _I do not own the Star Wars… what is it now, a trilogy of trilogies?_

 _TapTap_


	6. Queen

_I obviously do not own the Star Wars SAGA - (That's the word I was looking for. Thanks to Princess Prettypants for letting me know the name of the thing I'm writing fanfiction for!) I didn't even know how to say the name. (As usual, I haven't even seen half of it, either.)_

 _TapTap_

Padme rubbed her eyes tiredly. The twins had taken the move well, but it had been a busy time. She was happy to be back home - happier than she could say - but the days were hectic, and she missed Anakin badly. Living away from Naboo to be in the senate had not been ideal, but it did mean she could see him.

Carriel had come with her - their friendship was publicly known and had acted as a cover more than once in the past - but while she appreciated the help, it was not enough to completely smooth over the change. At least, her friend knew how to keep the twins sleeping quietly at night.

Padme had been crowned almost immediately upon returning - a month ago, now - and tomorrow was the day Anakin was set to arrive. Their wedding was to be private, a fact for which Padme was supremely grateful - it _had_ to, of course, to cover up the fact that it was a mere renewal of wows, not a truly new marriage - and he was then to be crowned as the prince consort in a much larger ceremony the following morning, before all of her people. She reminded herself to look vaguely miserable in a political way, and not to overplay it.

She's asked Yoda how long they'd have to keep up the façade for; if they had to pretend. She had been told to let it grow slowly. Let everyone believe that they were merely growing content in this, and for them to display affection towards one another would not be a very dramatic thing in time, had been Qui-Gon's contribution. She had to admit he had a point.

"Nervous? You're getting married tomorrow, after all," Padme turned around to see Carriel standing in the doorway and smiling. Sometimes she so resembled her master in her humour that Padme half-suspected Yoda had known something unknown there, too, and Carriel was in fact the result of some much earlier rule-breaking on Qui-Gon's part.

Entering the room and shutting the door, Carriel's teasing became soft concern. "Everything alright? Is there something which concerns you?" "I am just wondering… if we're still committed to living a lie. This does not mean the truth is out, not at all, and…"

"It means, that you are back home," Carriel had been a child when Padme first met her, about the age she herself had been when she'd met Anakin, but the queen was suddenly reminded just how much she - and indeed, how much they'd _all_ \- had grown up. "Anakin will be with you - allowed to stay with you every night, soon enough - playing with the children, and no one will stop them from calling him 'dad'."

Carriel's eyes were grave and very wise as she continued, meeting Padme's eyes without blinking. "It means when you open the new school you're now planning, a year from now, you can do so holding his hand. It means, two years from now, you can openly bear his child. Three years from now it will mean something else, and decades from now when the twins are grown, you can attend their weddings or their children's christenings as a true, loving couple, open for the world to see. Padme, it is worth _everything_."

Smiling, and feeling tears in her eyes at the images the Jedi was conjuring up, Padme had to agree. It meant the _world_.

* * *

Padme was peeking into the room, smiling softly for herself. Leia and Luke were toddlers, now, and she was sure as adorable toddlers were never before seen. "They seem to have gotten through alright," the whisper, making Padme smile even wider before she'd even recognised the words, were spoken by the children's father.

Leaning against the doorpost behind her, Anakin threaded an arm around Padme's waist as they watched their children. Anakin had only been in the palace for a week, but his presence was growing on everyone. He had gotten a frosty greeting at first, but as it had quickly been evident that Padme did not resent his presence, nor did anybody else.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had reminded everyone, subtle as can be, how the two were childhood friends, as a matter of fact, and that Padme was actually very grateful for Anakin's support. Soon - rumours spreading like wildfire on this subject as it was on every mind - all of Naboo knew how Anakin was a good friend to their queen, similar to that other Jedi in the palace, Carriel, and with their consciences eased, people started to turn their eyes away without more thought, focusing on other - more urgent - subjects in their own lives.

As for the servants; Anakin had proven kind and helpful, same as the woman he apparently named as his sister, and it was easy for everyone to make peace with having him there. That didn't, however, stop the speculation on whether or not this mysterious lover might challenge the new husband. Or the other way around. This wouldn't stop for quite some time.

"The move was less taxing for them," Padme reminded her - now formal - husband, leaning into his embrace. "Maybe," he allowed, "I'm relieved to see they're… safe, after the attack." He did not speak the words "on your life" out loud, nor did he need to. Fondly, Padme rolled her eyes. "They slept through it! As did I, _and_ Carriel! The man was already dead by the time _they_ even got there, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan told me, and _you_ were just getting back into bed. It was hardly dramatic!"

Snorting, as she felt her husband tense, quite clearly the only one who was carrying any sort of trauma, Padme suggested, "Let's leave them sleeping. You just reminded me I have an unfinished project from that night… well some nights before you saved my life, actually." Waiting for a light of understanding and recognition to go on in Anakin's eyes, Padme dragged her not-at-all-resisting husband away to try that seduction, one more time.

This time, Anakin was the obedient and dutiful husband Padme always knew he could be. Enthusiastic, too.


	7. Sparring

**7.**

 _I do not own the Star Wars Saga. I only own my own fluffy ideas… Wow, say that sentence three times fast!_

 _TapTap_

Anakin settled in fast to travelling between the Senate and Jedi headquarters and his new home in Naboo. It certainly took absolutely no getting used to, to wake up with Padme every morning, to play with his children on a daily basis without needing an excuse to see them.

As a result of the seemingly effortless living arrangements and peaceful proceedings when it came to any semi-public discussion between the new spouses, the servant staff was soon impressed with their new prince consort, and rumours of the pair making an honest effort spread like wildfire. Even the most quarrelsome of the senators had nothing to make a fuss about. Besides, even if they did, they had nothing for it. Yoda was in residence, and they had soundly lost.

Usually, Carriel could be found everywhere Anakin was not, and yet she managed to be her brother's shadow often enough. Her presence, either way, strengthened the rumours that all three - the two Jedi and the Naboo's beloved queen - was solid friends and that was why Anakin and Padme got along so well.

No one even thought of the possibility that _he_ might be her secret romance.

Still frequently out doing Yoda's bidding, and residing with his peers no more, Anakin was not seen much in the Jedi circles, but the masters made a point to let him come spar with the other apprentices regularly. It was during such a session, Carriel and Anakin just leaving the training rooms after quite a workout, that a few teenage Jedi apprentices took the opportunity to tease him.

"Hey, Anakin!" One of them, a tall youngling who would never be able to match Anakin in skill, power nor control, cried out with a grin which was mischievous but not malicious.

"What do you think of the odds? Rumour has it your new wife's lover and baby daddy is planning to take you on any day now! You worried?" The group around the young man laughed, but they quieted quickly at the casually stern expression directed their way by Carriel. Even more so than Anakin, she was growing up fast, and word of mouth was she would fly through her test any day now.

Even as it still wasn't taken, she was a grown Jedi, vastly competent, not without her own great power - even though one tended to forget it with Anakin so often working right there with her - and her opinion held _weight_. They were all nearly adults, now, but _she_ had already passed the mark.

As it happened, Anakin - as ever, really - did not need her protection, even if he did need her steadiness. "Oh," he noted effortlessly, summoning his lightsabre from the cupboard designated for them without even a gesture, completely effortlessly, "I say he might; but I do not care much." Showing them a feral grin, he finished, "I say I can take him. Wouldn't you?" Carriel tastefully waited until they were out of earshot to break down with laughter at their stunned - and slightly worried - faces.


	8. Diplomat

_'_ _Adds in an author's note as apparently, I forgot that.' Copyright infringement is not intended, just fluff is intended…_

 _TapTap_

Luke was five years old when he started digging shells out of the Palace's nearby beach by using the force rather than just his hands. Leia was three when she started to float flowers in her room, and when she was seven, she would do it to her teddy bears. Prompted by his sister's brilliant idea, Luke followed suit within days.

Yoda was sent for after the twins' second birthday to check up on their powers, and he saw great promise in Luke already at first glance. His sister, he was less sure about; not necessarily because she had less connection to the force, he explained thoughtfully to their parents, but because she was somehow less pulled to _use_ it.

Leia was four years old when it happened. Her brother had already started training with his father, while Leia seemed to prefer the lessons of her mother. Judging by everything, she took them to heart as well, as they soon found out.

There had been a party of foreign dignitaries visiting, not usually stingy individuals as a rule, but something had set the head ambassador on edge. They didn't know it at the time, but she has found her husband in bed with two other men _and_ another woman just as she made to leave for the trip.

They had been out on the patio, socialising and having drinks, when a member of the diplomatic party had brought up Padme's sudden marriage which at this point had been just over a year ago. Padme had answered with grace, of course, but with her recent experience in mind, the ambassador had turned to have a go at Anakin, starting to get herself quite worked up. Presumably, she saw some parallel between her rubbish situation and Padme's - which admittedly, at a glance, _was_ unfair - and took it out on her host's husband. She couldn't know how things truly were, after all.

Surprisingly, before Padme could intervene - and perhaps start a war in the process - _Leia_ came to the rescue of her father. The child had snuck out to watch the adults, and now she came forward, an adorable toddler in pink slippers with her hair braided.

It took intensive - but not _stern_ , she had been _very_ helpful after all - questioning later to figure out that she had done it on purpose at all. Leia - flawlessly polite and proper, small as she was - had peeked out, then stepped forward and asked the ambassador several questions, successfully diverting her attention completely and giving Padme time to send Anakin to the other end of the palace. Which she did, quick as a wasp.

Young Leia's version was that she had seen "the lady" being rude to her daddy and had wanted to stop her. According to her mummy you could never be rude to ambassadors, senators or politicians _even_ if they were rude to you, and she had heard the lady speak with her mummy about how much she liked children, so she had decided to make a diversion. (Uncle Qui-Gon had taught her that word.) It was hard to say who, exactly, was the proudest of her at that point. It was a close thing.

All in all, Leia would grow to be quite the impressive diplomat, and this surprised _nobody_.


	9. Rumour

_I have a confession to make: I do not own Star Wars. Now when that bombshell is over with, here's the next chapter._

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Padme choose the day after her beloved children's fifth birthday to make the announcement. She was pregnant once more, to the great joy of her and her husband.

The speculation started virtually as soon as she had made the news public. That is, the very _moment_ she did. Was her husband the father? It was likely, some argued; they did seem very peaceful and happy together. He's a friend, others thought, and a _Jedi_. Clearly, she's still with that lover of hers, and her friend and her are just that; friends.

Then, Anakin and Padme made a public appearance together, confirming the news as a couple, and the speculation went from crazy, to out of this world. The reason, innocent as it seemed to rational minds, was Anakin's smile as he commented that he was happy about the news.

For a few people, the obvious honesty of this statement confirmed that he was, in fact, the father of this unborn child. Most everyone, however, got a _quite_ different idea. It might have been heartfelt, they granted, but there was something secret or almost _smug_ about his eyes as he smiled and said he was happy.

Unbelievably, the theory that was formed over the following weeks, was that Padme _had_ indeed still been with her lover - perhaps when her husband was not in the palace - and this was not an agreed arrangement at all. _Instead_ , it had finally been confirmed for Anakin with the pregnancy, and he had done, well, what a powerful young Jedi like him might be expected to do in that circumstance.

The idea was quite simply that Anakin smiled like that, like he _won_ somehow, because that's what he _did_. Because after two years, he had proof of another man still being involved, tracked him up - rumour had it he was a very powerful Jedi, didn't it - and _killed_ him himself. They were all sure he was more than capable to. No matter who that man was, or rather _had been_. Didn't their queen look a little strained sometimes when her pregnancy was compared to the last one?

It differed whose side people was on - if they felt sympathy with their queen or admiration for her husband - but it became quite a firm belief for a lot of people. No one, however, confronted Anakin with it for many years. He _did_ hear of it, and while Padme disliked the idea, he found it rather funny.

Carriel playfully hit him, when he got a bit _too_ amused at some of the speculation about specifically _how_ many pieces, he might have left this rival in. _Many_ seemed to be the general consensus.

The rumours weren't improved by the fact that the servant staff were banned from talking about it where the children might hear, but the ban _was_ obeyed, and probably necessary. Not that loyalty wasn't still absolute to their queen; and no one would have wanted to harm her _or_ her children in any way,

When a beautiful baby boy was born late that same year, the rumours slowed down as soon as he was first presented to the people by a brilliantly happy, obviously proud Anakin, announcing his son's name to the world.


	10. Family

_So, it is my firm belief that such deep-rooted issues as Anakin clearly have in the canon, these issues - lessened as they obviously are by circumstances in this set-up - would not just_ go away _without effort, regardless of context. Anakin's thoughts in this chapter reflect this belief._

 _TapTap_

Qui-Gon watched indulgently as Leia floated a teddy bear to join them as they settled into her bed for a story. Now almost eight years old, the twins had finally gotten proper bedrooms of their own, instead of sleeping together in a bigger bed. (Perfect as that had been for nightmare handling and bedtime reading.)

Now, Leia had picked out a book (Qui-Gon was _not_ any better and floated that over, too, himself) and the two settled in for a long-time favourite story about a dragon-slaying princess.

Meanwhile, in Luke's bedroom, Obi-Wan was recounting a story about a young Jedi facing impossible odds and winning every time. Said hero was called Luke, naturally, or sometimes Anakin instead. Anakin's stories were all his own - they had gotten out of some tight spots over the years - but little Luke didn't know that most of the other stories were originally Qui-Gon's stories: and the hero was usually either Carriel, or possibly a mix of other adventures, more or less made up.

Carriel herself, was also misusing her powers, in her case floating a series of small, coloured stones to entertain an increasingly sleepy two-year old. Anakin and Padme's youngest child, Quiwan, (Properly, Carriel suspected it ought to be "Qui-Wan", considering the name's origins, but no one pronounced it that way. Maybe they _would_ if he chose to ever be a Jedi) was a pretty child, even more so than his admittedly beautiful sister and already handsome older brother, and everyone seemed united in the firm conviction that the child would grow up to be a heartbreaker one day.

"Like his mysterious father," someone had once whispered, only to get such a look from Anakin that nobody dared ever breathe a word of that suspicion again. He thought it was endlessly amusing, and Carriel rather agreed. So, it seemed, did Qui-Gon and Yoda, while Padme and Obi-Wan (like the two of them usually did) chose to be adults.

Anakin was standing out on the balcony off of the Queen's official suite, breathing in the cooling night air. It had been almost five years since he first came to live on Naboo, but it still seemed strange to him. He was endlessly glad that hic children got to grow up here, that his wife got to return home to stay, and when she expected Qui-Wan he had suffered from none of the vicious nightmares which had scared him so the previous time. _Lucky_ , was the word he'd use to describe all the chances he'd gotten and the way his life had played out.

Yet, sometimes there was still a hollow feeling in his chest, as if he had not yet quite found his purpose. He had confided as much to Qui-Gon, who had been sympathetic of his feelings, but also hinted that this was probably a problem to do with _youth_. Considering it had seemed to lessen with time; what at some nights had once been empty and hollow in his heart could now be effortlessly chased away by one touch of Padme, well, he was still young, maybe, but he was old enough for sure to realise that maybe Qui-Gon had a point.

He had found his space, after all. It was not perfect - half the people of Naboo still considered him a formality in the fringes of his own family - but it was certainly _more_ than close enough. He was _content_ , if not entirely at peace. Yet.

* * *

"Anakin?" Padme was not surprised to find her husband out on their balcony - it was common enough that she tended to be startled to find him in bed instead - nor was she worried like she might have been a few years ago. There was a slight darkness to Anakin sometimes, that fear Yoda had first sensed in him, perhaps, but she could no longer guess at it when looking at him. The steadiness of a few more years suited Anakin eminently well, and she was certain she'd only grow more attracted to him, as well as impressed. Just like she had so far.

He had a childishly rebellious streak, to be sure, but then so did she; and she found herself actually hoping that their children had inherited it as well. With Qui-Gon around to teach them mischievousness, it was certainly being _cultivated_.

Back in the now, as three Jedi read bed time stories to their children, Anakin turned to face her with a smile, welcoming her into his arms with a thoughtful naturalness which made her heart hurt with happiness. They still had things to face and battles to fight, she did not doubt it, but they had _so much_ to be grateful for.


	11. Carriel

_I keep forgetting to add author's notes... I still don't own any of this… except Carriel._

 _TapTap_

She was beautiful. Anakin could reflect on that - if in a strictly brotherly, protective fashion, granted - from his spot at Obi-Wan's side. Qui-Gon stood alone for the first time, for this ceremony, as Carriel finally got her much-deserved title. She had taken the test, and she had passed with flying colours.

Carriel was a master in the Jedi order.

She was made for the title, many who watched her granted. She had the fiery passion of her master, yet the calm assurance of a great wielder of the force, and she had already achieved great things. No doubt, she would do many more.

Windu found it within himself to compliment Qui-Gon on the progress of all his apprentices soon after; Qui-Gon had never made the council himself, but Obi-Wan had earnt his place the previous year, Carriel was a Master at last, and Anakin - who was certainly his protégé, if not his pupil - was expected to achieve nothing short of grandeur. Some would say that he already _had_ done.

Anakin stood in the doorway, the next time he came to visit, and watched his sister-in-arms teach a small group of young children; much in the way Yoda was so fond of doing and had done for so long.

She was good at it, as well, with all the pose and patience of a great teacher, and her brother-in-arms knew with sudden certainty that she'd never take an apprentice of her own. She would remain here, teaching, and she would be content.

He was deeply thrilled for her sake, for her finding her place - as he had admittedly managed to himself - but he also felt a stab of sadness as he watched her excel at her new task.

They had been united for so long, threading in the same footsteps, in the same little self-formed family, and while they would always be joined by friendship - and love, as family always remains - they were at a crossroads, and they weren't picking the same path.

As her lesson ended and she met his eyes with a smile that was first spontaneously thrilled to see him, then thoughtful, he knew that she knew it too.

As ever, she was the more measured one; nodding to him with composure before coming to the door of what was _her_ place, but not _his_. Siblings always take different paths, but they also _always_ remain siblings. As long as they want to; and they _both did_.


	12. Goal

_This is the moment we have been waiting for… or at least our protagonists have. I do not own Star Wars, and I mean no copyright infringement nor any offence._

 _TapTap_

Padme had agonised over her decision, but finally decided to throw caution to the wind and show up, children in tow, when Anakin was finally named a master. He got through his test as easily as Carriel had - if not so steadily - and Padme allowed herself to be openly proud of him.

He had aimed for it for so long, tried so hard and, at the end of the day, made sacrifices. She wanted to be there, supporting him, when he finally reached the goal. One of them, anyway.

She did stand by him, as soon as such could be allowed, and she abandoned the politics to simply be with her husband, as they would wish to always be simply a couple. And just for one day, she didn't _pretend_.

So much so that there were comments, and rumours ensuing, but that was likely unavoidable whatever she had chosen to do. They seemed like quite a loving couple, was the general consensus as Anakin left, this time to take quests on his own, instead of with his master.

Before he could leave, however, he made time to spar with Carriel, who lived in the Jedi headquarters permanently since she was made master over a year earlier, and as he remained a week longer than his wife before coming back home a master, he had plenty of time to get a new perspective on much of the gossip. Rapid as the gossip was at Naboo, there was also a lot of loyalty there, and they had been relatively sheltered from it all.

He was sitting in the dinner hall one night; Carriel and Qui-Gon with him, though Obi-Wan was out on a mission, seeing to Jedi council business. This particular rumour had been going strong for many years; since before their second son had been born almost half a dozen years earlier.

"Congratulations," another recent master sitting further down the same table addressed Anakin, smiling. "You made it. And you seem to have made your marriage work, too. Your wife is beautiful, and your children are lovely."

"Thank you," he replied softly, some of Carriel's - and Qui-Gon's for that matter - steadiness having bleed into him over time, as well as the advantage of more years on his side.

"I guess," another Jedi, who had not yet made master, commented from beside the first, "that eliminating the competition helped." Skywalker looked back at the group of young men blankly, as he was confronted with the rumour - and the actual question - head on for the first time.

"I mean," a third man bravely asked out loud, "you killed that lover of hers, didn't you? I mean I don't blame you or anything. That was _way_ balsy of him to stick around."

Anakin said nothing, just continued to look back at them steadily, until Carriel and Qui-Gon's conversation drew him back in, and he immersed himself in that instead, leaving the other young men to talk amongst themselves after a brief period of shocked silence.

One of them gulped, as Anakin's eyes finally left them, and shook his head. "He totally did it, didn't he." It wasn't a question. "He's _scary_. Seriously, I never thought I'd say that, but…" the first man shuddered. One of the others, who had remained silent so far, shook his head in wonder, while the man sitting next to him simply commented, gulping. "Yeah…"

"We're never going to find the body, are we…" the second man spoke again, and he got gulps and sighs in reply, along with short, half-hysterical laughter from each of his companions. "We're not," the third man agreed, and he could hardly know, just how right he was, now could he?


	13. Future

_This chapter_ refused _to_ end _. I have no control over my characters. At all. Nope._

 _I'm not even_ trying _at this point, to be perfectly honest with you… I sort of enjoy the mayhem!_

 _And I use "my" in a very liberal sense here, as I do not in the least claim the characters to actually_ be _mine. They belong to their owners, and definitely not to me. Glad we cleared that up._

 _TapTap_

Padme kicked her shoes off and lifted her feet into Anakin's lap as she collapsed onto the sofa. Her husband was reading a report of some sort, having just come back from a quest alongside Qui-Gon. Neither he, nor any of his old apprentices had gotten any new Padawan-apprentices, and so they continued to work alongside one another as they did before.

In Qui-Gon´s case, he was simply getting too old for the commitment of a new Padawan, and having had several pupils before, the council had decided to leave it be this time. For Obi-Wan, his rising position on the council had meant he was rather too busy to take one on, and Carriel taught the younger classes, staying in the Jedi high quarters, which might not technically have made her _unsuitable_ for an apprentice, but it was at least redundant for her to have one.

As for Anakin, Yoda had decided that his unusual duties - for a Jedi - as a prince consort and the father of a royal family was enough to deal with, and he sent him out on journeys and tasks, but left it at that. Anakin had seen the sensible in this and consented to an unusual life for a Jedi, without objections. Padme was glad for it. Jedi didn't normally have children, and she found it hard to reconcile the images of her family - and _her_ duties, which Anakin had some share in - with the sort life-consuming obligations any normal Jedi lived with.

Not that her own duties as a queen always matched up completely with those of a mother, as it happened more than once that she struggled for time. Luckily, Anakin's work might take him away from them occasionally, but he was all theirs when he _was_ there with them, and that helped considerably.

* * *

"Was it a difficult day?" Anakin had placed the folder down in favour of rubbing his wife's feet. "It is a tricky decision I have to make," Padme agreed, dropping her head back. She spent almost an hour detailing the problem to her husband, as they attempted to decide on a course of action together.

Work settled - at least for the night - they had other decisions to make. The twins - Luke and Leia - were fourteen years old now, and their little brother was nearly eight. Raising children that old might have been simpler in many practical ways, but it also presented plenty of new challenges.

"Will your fathers and Carriel come down for Quiwan's birthday party?" Padme asked, laughing as Anakin predictably rolled his eyes at her reference to his two fathers. He would never call his former master such, but Padme had simply decided that this fact only made it more entertaining. For all that she normally chose to be an adult, _she_ knew how to tease, too. She hadn't practically grown up with Carriel for nothing. Never mind the rest of them. _And Yoda_.

"I expect they will. They usually make time for the kids if they possibly can," he noted, pulling his wife closer, "Lars and my mother will come to, I am sure. Along with most of the rest of the family." "That will be nice," Padme noted, getting a nod in reply.

"It is good for the children," Anakin took up the train of thought a few moments later. "And they like that side of the family. Maybe we should let them go to Tatooine to stay with them this summer?" "If you'd like," Padme agreed readily, smiling back at her concerned husband. Anakin had always had a tendency to overthink things, even if his inclination to overreact because of it had lessened significantly through the years.

Anakin looked back at his wife suspiciously. "You're just humouring me now, aren't you," he accused rather than asked; even though his voice was soft and almost amused, not actually carrying any of the accusation he tried to imply. Padme laughed. "Yes," she confessed readily, drawing a laughter from her other half.

"You want me to stop overthinking and join you in bed now, don't you," Anakin continued to be impressively - but not unusually - insightful. "Yes," Padme repeated, eyes sparkling with humour. Rolling his eyes with not in the least annoyed fondness, Anakin rose and without a sound, any effort nor movement, extinguished most of the lights.

Recognising victory - and surrender - when it was so readily - and willingly - presented to her, Padme rose and took the offered hand, leading the way while pondering for how long she might be able to keep her Jedi from his balcony. It turned out to work until approximately three am, when she finally found him out there; as predictable as the tide which was coming in down on the shore.

* * *

It was a brilliant day - the day when Leia's father was to return home to the palace - when the young princess was out on the beach, slightly further away from the palace than was usual for her. She had guards with her of course, trailing not too far back, but it was giving the fourteen-year-old girl - strolling around with a few of her friends - an illusion of unusually much freedom.

She was an intelligent young girl, who appreciated the safety provided by her escort rather than resented the men with the task of protecting her, but she _was_ still a teenager, and a little bit of freedom was always better than the alternative.

As the young girls wandered, talking about anything and everything; and mostly gossiping about their school friends, they ended up near the beach area of a local bar. The guards would have intervened if the girls had attempted to stray too far in that direction, but they were clever, sensible girls - well, most of the time - and they did not try to do so.

Despite the distance, however, they did stumble upon a few of the establishment's guests; or rather, former guests who had clearly just been tossed out. Possibly literally. They were boys, more or less, not too much older than the girls themselves were, and the two groups merged slowly as they got chatting.

It was perhaps a politer conversation (on both sides) than it would have been without the guards - now lurking far closer to their charges than they had previously done - in attendance, but before it ended and the girls had to return the way that they had come, Leia reached out a hand and introduced herself to the boy next to her. He was a handsome young man; with laughing eyes and unruly hair, with a mischievous air about him, and possibly a bit tipsy at the moment.

But he accepted her courtly, perfect manners with some rougher - although correct - ones of his own and took the offered hand. Introducing himself in turn, he grinned and replied to her saying her name - the first one, only - with a simple statement. "Han Solo."


	14. Father

_This, rather abruptly - sorry about that - is our last episode of this little story. I hope you have all enjoyed the ride and I would like to assure you all a final time that I claim no ownership nor intend any copyright infringement of_ any _recognisable parts of this material, and that this story is merely intended for fun._

 _TapTap_

They were seventeen years old, the twins, when they finally found out. It was amazing, really, that they had managed to keep the rumours from the children for that long; and for that matter that no friends of theirs had ever spoken of it.

In Luke's case, as he had grown up to enter the Jedi ranks, it wasn't really seen as a very relevant topic of conversation. In his generation, anyway. It might have been interesting to ask his father, maybe, but considering how terrifying that experience had been, no one had wanted to even try with the son. Besides, everyone knew that the royal Skywalker children didn't know that story. _That_ piece of news had _long_ leaked from the palace.

As far as Leia was concerned, she was mostly surrounded by the daughters of Naboo's nobles and they were _far_ too well bred to dare defy all convention and ask her about it. Well, at _first_. Then they simply forgot all about it. Because it was something interesting to their parents, and therefore inherently boring.

Perhaps more surprisingly, Leia's other friend - the young pilot called Han Solo - hadn't brought it up either; but then again, he was a street-smart youngling and could probably tell it wouldn't be a good idea. Not that he necessarily minded bad ideas, as a general rule. Which was really rather what Leia liked about him.

In the end it was a completely random occurrence which gave it away after all those years. Just a visiting party of diplomats and a seemingly harmless conversation.

Leia; who had grown up to be quite the diplomat with age - not that she hadn't been savvy enough at the ripe old age of four to be able to save her father that time - was cool-headed enough not to start a scene in the middle of a political dinner.

It was the next morning; only family in attendance, including her two brothers, that Leia in a surprisingly steady voice confronted her mother. She had managed to draw out the rest of the story from her old nurse earlier in the morning, so she knew what the people said.

With this preparation, the accusation she finally threw at her mother was properly expressed and well-informed, and it was filled with undertones of the deep betrayal the teenage daughter now felt looking at her apparently loving, united parents with the sudden knowledge that things like that very image; things she had believed her entire life, were questioned by _everyone_ but herself and by all accounts was mostly made up by lies.

"Leia," Padme responded in a pleading voice, trying to calm her daughter. "I don't want to hear it!" Leia was not normally a very loud nor difficult teenager, but she did have a rather good excuse at this occasion.

"You _lied_ to us! Not even that, _he_ ," she pointed at the startled, and obviously upset and hurt Anakin," isn't even our father! And you let us take his _name_!"

"Leia," Qui-Gon's voice was soft and calming, a great effort at calming the situation down which yet did not work. At this point, more than one servant had heard the uproar and there was a small but growing audience to their conversation.

Quiwan cut in at this point, his voice somehow both silent and yet echoing in the great space. "Who is my father?" The boy, only eleven years old, sounded defeated, his voice hollow. " _I_ am!" Anakin's voice was sure and almost too loud in the tense atmosphere of the hall.

Quiwan looked at his two siblings with deep shock, and his voice was a devastated whisper. "Then, you and I are not really…" But his silent plea, as that was really what it was, was drowned by his brother's harsh words to their father.

"Because you _killed_ our father and took his _place_!" Luke had joined in the shouting now, looking more distraught than actually angry; but he was clearly building up to it, nevertheless. Without a doubt, he would have shaken his grief and become furious before long if uninterrupted.

"Luke," tried both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, "Anakin did not kill your father!" The boy paused, not detecting any lie, just as Anakin drew his attention, his voice almost sharp with the force of his argument. "Luke, I am your father!"

Luke faltered at that, his two siblings staring in silence with him for a moment, before Obi-Wan pre-empted more shouting by explaining, his voice soft, considerate, trying to help.

"I was with them, when your father and I originally got the task to protect your mother. The first time. I was also with them as they fell in love, and I… I was there to advise them against it. I am glad I was wrong. Nobody could be more thrilled for you and for the family they managed to build; against the odds."

"Anakin confided in me early on," Qui-Gon continued securely, his gentle voice calming the three children down effectively this time, "and I was there when they married in secret. They tossed him out," he joked, nodding to his former pupil, making Obi-Wan snort.

"I was with them as Master Windu and I manipulated members of the senate into pushing the stupid plan of making them marry, and what I told you when you were small is true. They did wed because of politics, but they _were_ very happy to do so."

"We were both there, along with Yoda, when they wed after your mother's coronation, back when you both," Obi-Wan continued, nodding towards Luke and Leia, "were just toddlers. That was why it was a private ceremony; they could not marry again, after all."

"It was a cover-up of sorts," Carriel broke in from the door, privately thinking afterwards that she had chosen quite an opportune moment to arrive at Naboo, "but as I told your mother, it was well _worth_ it. It was not ideal this way, but your father got to see you grow up, and they got to _be together_. I know it must seem like we all lied to you, but really, it was the exact _opposite_. We didn't mention it, because we _did_ lie, and we _didn't_ want to lie to you three."

"I never wanted to tell you anything but that I was your father, and it didn't feel right that you should share in this burden," Anakin stated softly, "so we forbade the palace staff to talk about it and hoped… well, just _hoped_."

"This was not the ideal way for us to have this discussion, but Yoda would tell you it was inevitable that we would, eventually, have it." Qui-Gon settled finally.

Leia's eyes widened, as she took in their audience and realised for the first time what an incredibly public, in many ways, place she had chosen to have this argument.

Qui-Gon followed her huge, startled eyes and he smiled. "I think it is a little late for anybody to do anything about this now," he assured her. "The truth does have a way of coming forwards eventually, and it was likely for the best that it finally did."

"And isn't it rather lovely," Padme stated with a sudden beaming smile, as the realisation sunk in. Anakin laughed. Carriel smirked and noted with a chuckle, winking at her brother, "I look forward to the next time you set foot in headquarters. That'll be some conversation; they're all convinced you used a laser sword to 'divide' the mystery lover into at _least_ a few dozen pieces, these days."

"Well, I seem to recall you retelling the rumour that they decided they'd never find the body," Anakin quipped back, winking at his children. "I always thought that rather insightful, at the end of the day."

"Because there's no body to find," Padme spoke almost disbelievingly. "Details!" Rather surprisingly, it was Quiwan who broke in, chuckling now.

Rolling her eyes, Leia went back to being rational. "So, we are all…" she sought confirmation, without being able to find the words to ask.

" _Yes_ ," Padme promised her daughter, meeting her eyes with nothing but honesty. "You are all Skywalkers; all Anakin's - and my - children. We have loved each other for twenty years, and we have been so _blessed_ to get to raise you all together. For a long time, we thought we'd never be able to." Her voice, though she did not know it, was a raw appeal for understanding. Anakin nodded with her words.

* * *

It was the same evening, the whole family gathered before the fire in the lounge of the royal apartments, as the adults took turns to tell the children the whole story, without diversions, of what had happened in those very early years of their lives; before Quiwan was born.

"Your grandmother, grandpa Lars and your aunts and cousins know," Anakin assured his children, "they did not at first, but mother was concerned that I might have killed somebody, and that… well, that you might become estranged from your 'real' family, as it might be. I told her first, and with time we told the rest of the family."

"Yoda was told early on; I insisted on it," Qui-Gon elaborated, "and Windu knows, though he was never thrilled about it. Too untidy for his sensibilities..." Obi-Wan snorted audibly.

"I want to hear what the rumours say _now_ , amongst the Jedi," Quiwan snorted and shook his head, making his brother and father chuckle with him. Like his brother, Quiwan had been drawn into the circles his father had come from, but he was a lot less conventional about it than his brother. Padme thought privately that her eldest son took after Obi-Wan, while her youngest took after Qui-Gon.

"I will relay every single one to you," Carriel promised, making Obi-Wan cringe visibly. "We should schedule a trip soon, Padme decided, giving up on being an adult for the time being and just going along with the silliness, leaning against Anakin's side in a room full of their closest friends and family, in a land full of _her people_ , in a palace from which the truth was already flooding like water.

She knew, that by the time they all sat there together, _everybody_ finally knew the _truth_. She could let go of the excuses and the mysterious smiles as people commented on their amicable relationship or family. The truth was out. _At last_.


End file.
